Why are sailboats so cheap?
I have been looking on Craigslist and i see a lot of big sailboats cheap, and some of them are free (in need of restoration) but free none the less. I was wondering if i should just go and get one, i know nothing about sailing but i want to learn.

 

Just a suggestion but go to a local sailing club or sailing school and ask for advice. There are always members willing to chat, offer encouragement and tell you terrifying stories of their times at sea.

IMO a wonderful hobby / outdoor activity for all the family.

Tweakie.

 

Sailing takes a lot of skill. It's easy to learn how to sail something small, like a little two man boat. I would imagine the reason you see a lot of cheap or free boats is due to a lot of people bit off more then they can chew.
Just like any hobby it takes time, money and a real passion for it. Let's face it most people these days don't have any of these things.

 

Before you take a free boat to repair yourself, get a subscription to EPOXYWORKS magazine.
It's a free magazine. You can get it at: http://www.epoxyworks.com/
That magazine can save you a ton of money when it comes to boat building and repair.

Also, find a person who knows a lot about mechanical structures in sale boats.
There are a lot of gotchas that can be a project killer if you get a really bad boat.
Look the boat over real good before spending any money on it.

I got a free speedboat from a neighbor down the road. Looked great on the outside.
When I pulled out the inside deck, dash, and seats the whole boat had rotted out in spots
from water damage. The fiberglass was so soft and squishy, that when we
tried to move the boat off it's trailer on to a repair stand, it crumpled up. :girl_cray2: :roll:

The good side of this story is, I got a great working motor and trailer that I sold.
The neighbor got his garage cleaned and I made a profit on the trailer and motor.

Hope this helps.
GHB

 

The biggest reason that you can pick up a big one so cheap is that it costs so much to keep it in the water or to maintain a vehicle that can pull it and to provide space for it. I sold my last one at a loss (intentionally) to sell it quick because the slip fees went up 200%. It would have cost me much more to wait for that special buyer at nearly $300 a month for the slip or even at $100 for dry storage. Of course I would have to also add any maintenance on top of that for the same time period along with the expense of driving 50 miles to get to it. The prices of sailboats have no relation to their actual worth. I have built several little ones and owned a commercially built one.

 

A buddy of mine was driven to selling his pontoon boat when his slip fee jumped about 200% also. When he found He was going to lose $5k, he pulled it from the slip and shoved it in storage. Now it's such a hassle to put it in the lake, it doesn't get used.
He said it would never sell because the dealers were dumping new boats cheaper than used ones. I have known several boat owners and none seemed to be happy owning one.

 

reminds me of rescuing a homeless pet. My last "free" dog cost me $700 and the one before that I lost track of how much money I spent on vet bills. They were worth it.

 

I've known some very happy boat owners, but it is an expensive hobby to maintain. Either you keep your small boat in your garage if it's small enough and pay gas to haul it back and forth or you pay to dock it, plus of course there are upkeep and other fees. It's so much fun though. If you have the time, money, and inclination to learn of course. People seem to have excellent advice--I'd parrot the one about asking for advise on potential purchases at nearby sailing clubs.

 

We have a terrific sailing (and other outdoor activities) club at the local state university. The only requirement to join is a university union membership, you don't have to be a registered student or faculty member to join. Great free (after the union membership fee) lessons on a variety of boats (sailing dingies, larger 20-30' sailboats, kayaks, canoes, sailboards) were available, and once you show proficiency by passing an on-the-water test you can check out a boat any time and go for a sail. They even have weekly (and week night) regattas (races) where you can gain experience as a crew member. They hold build days and maintenance volunteer opportunities so you can learn the "work" side, or you can just come out and sail the boats.

I strongly recommend this route. Whether or not you ever went to college you can still be a lifelong learner.

I've owned a couple of bigger (25') sailboats and built my own smaller one (16') from scratch, and I can honestly say that I did the most sailing, with the most enjoyment, as a member of this club. You get all the benefits of ownership and none of the hassles (registration, taxes, maintenance, slip fees, trailers, parking, storage). You also get a built-in set of teachers and experienced companions, as well as lots of opportunities to practice. One of the coolest features is that the club had a number of different boats you could learn on. I've never had the financial ability to own more than 1 at a time (and I never made money on a boat sale).

If I remember correctly, an annual union membership cost $250. You'll spend more than that on the cleaning supplies and registration fees to get a "free" boat into the water. The sailing club is the bargain of the century as far as that goes.

If you love to build things, get a set of plans, a set of good tools, and a dedicated build space. If you love to tinker and fix things, look into the "free" boats out there. If you want to spend time on the water, join a sailing club.

 

Wait, I have to amend my remarks. My daughter and I are currently building a matched set of "Racing Sparrow" sailboats, so I guess you could say we currently own 3 boats. Of course, the Racing Sparrow is 32" long (that's "inches") and is for 2-channel radio control. If you're interested, details can be found at
http://www.racingsparrow.co.nz/

We got started from a print copy of the book that included full-size plans from our local 1/2 Price Books store.

Looks like it's about time to order some epoxy and cloth, and to collect scrap lead to cast the keel bulbs.